The Debt 2010

   This film begins in 1997.  A retired Mossad agent was part of a celebrated trio of secret agents who tracked down a Nazi war criminals in East Berlin in 1966.  This incident was so applauded in history that three decades later her daughter has published a book about the mission.  A Nazi war criminal, the Surgeon of Birkenau was killed.  Now, 30 years later, a man claiming to be the doctor has appeared.  An agent must return to Eastern Europe to determine the truth.  There are many haunting memories and trauma relived during this mission.

    This movie is told in back and forth sections, one section is the present and the other is 1966.  There isn't any difficulty telling the sections apart because of the ages of the people.  This movie had a lot of potential with a strong cast but it feels weak and dreary with a few tense moments.  It is about the trio of agents who were celebrated as heroes but they share a dark secret.  There are several fight scenes that are brutish, bloody and realistic.  You feel like the characters are really fighting for their lives.  There is some swearing and drinking, several characters smoke cigarettes but it is accurate for the setting of 1966.  2 1/2* (This movie is so-so)

114 min, Mystery directed by John Madden and written by Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan with Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, Jessica Chastain, Jesper Christensen, Marton Csokas, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Wilkinson, Tomer Ben David. Romi Aboulafia, Ohev Ben David, Elana Kivity Davenport, Eli Zohar, Iren Bordan, Brigitte Kren.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10 with 62,942 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 77% with 183 critics 66% audience with 35,891 user ratings, Roger Ebert 2 1/2*, Common Sense Media S. Jhoanna Robledo age 15+, positive messages 2*, role models 1*, violence 3*, sex 1*, language 3*, consumerism 0, drinking drugs & smoking 2*,  Metacritic 9.2 out of 10 user scores with 5 ratings (positive 5*, mixed 0, negative 0), Amazon 4.1* out of 5*, Letterboxd 3.2* out of 5*, dove.org 3* sex 4*, language 4*, violence 3*, drugs 2*, nudity 2*, other 2*, the Holocaust is discussed, there is a coverup about a man who supposedly died but he escaped.

Special Note:  Jessica Chastain spent four months of training in Krav Maga for this movie.  Helen Mirren in the role of Rachel was required to speak some dialogue in Russian.  He father was a Russian diplomat but she did not speak Russian when she was a child.  She memorized phonetically her lines and they are nearly flawless and quite credible as native Russian speech.  Julia Roberts watched this film and afterwards she desperately wanted to work with Jessica Chastain.  The character of Dr. Vogel was loosely based on Dr. Josef Mengele, S.S. Officer and physician in the Auschwitz concentration camp.  Ciaran Hinds also played a Mossad Agent in the film Munich 2005.  The plane landing in the background during the Agents’ arrival scene is an Antonov An-26 from the Hungarian Air Force.  It has fake Israeli markings.  The pistol used by Jessica Chastain as the young Rachel was a Beretta 70S.